Dave’s Trip To, Around and Into Australia, Sept. 26 – Nov. 23, 2016

[SilvertoGold]

Dave:

 

Thanks for posting the info about the HH's "selected bev only" bit.

 

I started a thread about this and have received a lot of info. A bit confusing having that on the program, when it does not seem to apply. May be a ship-to-ship HAL thing!

 

Loving your commentary, beautiful photos and enjoy reading the programs and menus (understatement!)

 

Thanks for all your time and efforts!

[RetiredMustang]

Sept. 29, at sea (Cont.)

 

 

We went to breakfast in the Lido. We had noticed that the Lido now has all the tables set for breakfast:

 

 

 

They also do something similar at lunch. It was causing some confusion, as people at first thought all the tables were taken. But, no, they just had napkins with cutlery and glasses and cups. Servers would come around offering coffee or at lunch water or lemonade, but most people already had gotten drinks before they sat down.

 

We also noticed that the breakfast fruit was handled differently. There were still baskets of whole fruit like apples, oranges and bananas, but cut fruit was in individual servings instead of serve-yourself bins:

 

 

 

I suppose there may be less waste, but I usually prefer a few slices of watermelon, and I could not get that without also getting other melon slices.

 

I’ve been taking photos around the ship, and will try to organize and post them later. Here are photos of our cabin and balcony:

 

 

 

 

 

More later,

Dave

[themerle]

I'm noticing that on the dinner menu that there is a salad listed under the main course each night. That suits me just find. Hope I have a menu like that on my next cruise. I can see where the fruit being served in individual dishes would save time moving thru the line, but I think it would lead to waste.

[RetiredMustang]

Sept. 29, at sea (Cont.)

 

Before lunch in the Lido, we noticed that they had pitchers of iced tea, lemonade and ice water alongside trays of glasses by the Lido bar. Bar staff would pour and take glasses of the drinks to people around the deck, or you could help yourself … so we did.

 

I noticed at lunch that the salad bar was still being manned; that is, you could not make your own salad. But, they also had the old salad plates as well as the new huge bowls, so you could get a smaller plate. It was still making for long lines, though, because it just takes longer to tell someone what you want and how much of each.

 

I was happy to have seen yesterday that you could pick your own cheese:

 

 

 

And, I saw that they had pre-made sandwiches, with bags of potato chips available:

 

 

 

 

I think that there was also a small made-to-order sandwich section, but the Lido was packed and I didn’t want to hold up people – I will try to confirm if there is a made-to-order sandwich area another day and see if I can get a photo.

 

More later,

Dave

Edited September 29, 2016 by RetiredMustang

[Mtn2Sea]

As always, your photos are great. I sure do hope they still offer custom made sandwiches!

[debut]

Enjoying your report on the Maasdam, will be sailing on her soon, our first Holland America cruise. Enjoy looking at the menus and wondering if they have ice cream at the Buffet and do they have sorbet and frozen yogurt there? Hope the Internet continues and we can all enjoy the cruise with you

[erewhon]

Thank you for all the Maasdam information.

Hoping that the made to order sandwiches are available.

[Gladysgoing]

Sept. 26, Seattle, embarkation day (Cont.)

 

It is a bright, beautiful day in Seattle. Here is the view from our balcony, with the yacht club in the foreground and the Kitsap Peninsula across the Sound and the Olympic Mountains behind that:

 

 

 

The view out from starboard aft is of the Seattle skyline:

 

 

 

More later,

Dave

 

Wow! You just made me want to sail out of Seattle. I am really enjoying reading your thread.

[RetiredMustang]

Sept. 29, at sea (Cont.)

 

If I can get this posted, I will be officially surprised that I have an internet connection almost half way from Vancouver to Honolulu.

 

We lazed about in our cabin and on the balcony for a while, and then prepared for the first Gala night. We had pre-dinner drinks in the Ocean Bar and then went in to dinner. On the fourth night out of Seattle, there was still no prime rib … but there were some appealing dishes:

 

The menu was a multi-leaf foldout that was very hard to photograph. Here is the combined dinner and dessert menu in old-fashioned typing (how quaint!):

 

Appetizers

* Pineapple Boat – toasted coconut, strawberries

* Orange-Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail: melon trio skewer, Cilantro lemon grass aioli

* Escargot Bourguignon: herb garlic butter, Burgundy wine, French bread

 

Soups and Salad

* Creamed Artichoke and Heritage Carrot Soup: arugula pesto oil, crème fraiche

* Chicken with Soba Noodles: soy sauce, shiitake mushrooms, scallions, carrot, leek

* Salad of Arugula and Frisee: William pear, mandarin segments, pistachios, cherry tomatoes, organic mixed seeds

 

Entrees

* Cracked Pepper Tenderloin with Grilled Shrimp: sautéed spinach, green beans, caramelized pineapple, balsamic reduction

* Rack of Lamb with Tomato Couscous and Garlic Pearls: roasted red bell pepper, sautéed artichoke

* Maple-Lacquered Duck Breast: corn-cranberry pudding, candied figs, braised Swiss chard, cider vinegar sauce

* Yellowfin Sole Filet: smashed potato crab gallette, sauce verge, haricots verts

* Baked Ricotta Stuffed Shells: garlic-basil-tomato sauce, mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses

* Truffled Mushroom Risotto: Parmesan and mascarpone cheeses

 

Desserts

* Chocolate Souffle: warm dark chocolate sauce

* Balsamic Strawberries: white chocolate mousse

* Lemon Meringue Cheesecake: blueberry sauce, crushed amaretti

* Black Forest Cake (no sugar added): chocolate cake, Kirshwasser-flavored cream, Bing cherries, chocolate shavings

 

 

Along with about 90% of the diners, I had the shrimp cocktail appetizer, DW had the pineapple boat. For main dish, she had the mushroom risotto, while I had the steak and shrimp (in essence, I had the Bubba Gump dinner). For dessert, we both had the chocolate soufflé, which HAL does very well.

 

 

More later (perhaps much later, depending on the connectivity),

Dave

Edited September 30, 2016 by RetiredMustang

[Alberta Quilter]

Thank you for your reports. Just wanted to let you know that I had no issues with internet on my Vancouver RT to Hawaii cruise this past May on the Zaandam.

[RetiredMustang]

Sept. 30, at sea

 

Another day at sea en route to Hawaii. We are now about the latitude of San Francisco, and the weather is getting warmer. It is currently 64F/18C, before dawn.

 

Here are the first four pages of today’s On Location:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More in the next post,

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

Sept. 30, at sea (Cont.)

 

Here are the other two pages of today’s On Location:

 

 

 

 

More later,

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

Thank you for your reports. Just wanted to let you know that I had no issues with internet on my Vancouver RT to Hawaii cruise this past May on the Zaandam.

 

Thanks. I am finding it easier early in the morning than during the middle of the day -- I probably have les competition for the bandwidth then. I'll keep posting while I can.

 

Dave

Edited September 30, 2016 by RetiredMustang

[RetiredMustang]

Sept. 30, at sea (Cont.)

 

OK, the On Location posts went, so I’ll try to post some photos from around the ship. Here are some from the Explorations Café:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More later,

Dave

[DocJohnB]

Dave,

 

Thanks for taking me along (vicariously) on your voyage! I am enjoying both the discourse and the photography. I look forward to the rest of our voyage. :D

 

(Now, having nothing to do with your trip, I noticed your C/C moniker and am wondering Navy or Marine?)

Edited September 30, 2016 by DocJohnB

[RetiredMustang]

Sept. 30, at sea (Cont.)

 

I went by the Lido bar in mid-morning and saw there were serve-yourself drinks available on the rail:

 

 

There were also cool drinks available at lunch time:

 

 

More later,

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

Sept. 30, at sea (Cont.)

 

At lunch, I was able to confirm that there was a made-to-order sandwich station, although the choices were not as extensive as before – today the meat choices appeared to be ham or turkey:

 

 

 

 

But, I also noticed that there was a bread station just before the pre-made sandwiches, and serve-yourself cold cuts were on offer next to the cheese:

 

 

 

So, you could make your own sandwich if you wanted.

 

 

More later,

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

Enjoying your report on the Maasdam, will be sailing on her soon, our first Holland America cruise. Enjoy looking at the menus and wondering if they have ice cream at the Buffet and do they have sorbet and frozen yogurt there? Hope the Internet continues and we can all enjoy the cruise with you

 

The answer is yes, there is ice cream and sherbet available. Today’s menu did not show any frozen yogurt, but the menu changes daily, so there may be some on other days:

 

 

 

 

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

Dave,

 

...

 

(Now, having nothing to do with your trip, I noticed your C/C moniker and am wondering Navy or Marine?)

 

I'm a retired Navy Mustang - 13 years enlisted, 15 years officer.

 

Dave

[KNOT2L82SAIL]

I'm a retired Navy Mustang - 13 years enlisted, 15 years officer.

 

Dave

 

Thank you so much for your service.

and.... Thank you this blog. Love it. :D

[erewhon]

Enjoying your reports an photos.

 

Good news with the made to order sandwiches, did you notice if the server has a machine to toast( grill) the sandwiches?

[RetiredMustang]

(Note: the internet is getting really cranky. I will post this and try to hit it again tomorrow early.)

 

Sept. 30, at sea (Cont.)

 

We enjoyed an afternoon on our balcony in warm weather, watching the sea go by. Then we went to happy hour and on into dinner.

 

Here are the dinner and dessert menus:

 

 

 

 

 

For starters, we both had the prosciutto and melon. Then, DW had an always-available steak while I had the turkey dinner. For dessert, we stepped it up a bit. I had the chocolate delight, while DW had the chocolate fudge tartlet; we had been feeling a bit Ruthless so far this cruise and decided to do something about it. Mine was two inches of fudge frosting on a brownie, while hers was a fudge frosting in a pie shell. We noticed that they had put schmears of chocolate on each plate just to make sure we had enough:

 

 

More later,

Dave

[Bescotti]

Thanks so much for all the time and effort you are putting into your very informative blog. I join the Maasdam in January for her 39 night cruise back north and am really enjoying following your cruise south.

[erewhon]

Were the chocolate desserts tasty?

 

We appreciate you posting from the ship, and realize that some days you will be unable to, due to the lack of internet.

[RetiredMustang]

Oct. 1, at sea

 

 

We set the clocks back another hour last night – love those 25-hour days! Here are the first four pages of today’s On Location:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More in the next post,

Dave